A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an actuation mechanism configuration in a fishing reel, and more specifically, to an actuation mechanism for controlling operation of a sub-drag mechanism in the fishing reel.
B. Description of the Related Art
Fishing reels have become very sophisticated recently. Some fishing reels have special drag mechanisms which provide friction resistance to a spool thus limiting the free rotation of the spool and reducing backlash that is experienced when live bait pulls on the fishing line. For instance, one such fishing reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,077 (which corresponds to Japanese Patent Application 60-117177).
In the above mentioned US patent, a fishing reel is provided with a housing that is mountable to the underside of a fishing pole. A spool shaft is fitted into the housing generally parallel to the length of the fishing pole. A spool is attached to a forward end of the spool shaft. The spool includes a drag mechanism connected to the spool shaft and the spool and permits adjustment of the amount of drag force applied to the spool for limiting relative rotation of the spool with respect to the spool shaft to reduce backlash from live bait.
A rotor, which includes a bail member, is supported on the housing and is configured to rotate about the spool for winding a fishing line onto the spool. A driving shaft extends through the housing generally perpendicular to the spool shaft. The driving shaft has correspondingly large face gear fixed thereto. The large face gear is configured with gear teeth on a first axial side thereof, the gear teeth engaged with a pinion gear. The pinion gear is linked to the rotor and bail such that in response to rotation of a handle fixed to one end of the driving shaft, the rotor and bail rotate about the spool.
At a rearward portion of the housing, a sub-drag mechanism is installed on the spool shaft. The sub-drag mechanism permits the adjustment of a selective amount drag force to be applied to the spool shaft. The sub-drag mechanism includes engaging member fixed to one end of the spool shaft, a plurality of clutch disks and a knob for adjusting the force applied to the clutch disks. The engaging member includes a plurality of recesses which are sized to receive a gear tooth formed on a lock member. When the lock member gear tooth is engaged in one of the recesses on the engaging member, the spool shaft is fixed against rotation with respect to the housing. When the lock member is moved out of engagement with the engaging member, the spool shaft may rotate but rotation is limited by the amount of force applied to the clutch disks by the knob.
Movement of the locking member is effected by an actuation mechanism that is disposed between a second axial surface of the face gear and the housing.
The above described configuration is such that the housing must have adequate space to house the face gear, the pinion gear to drive the rotor and bail, and the actuation mechanism to control the sub-drag mechanism. The housing is somewhat large because the actuation mechanism for the sub-drag mechanism is located between the second axial surface of the face gear and the housing. Such an arrangement makes the housing large.
It is desirable to make the fishing reel housing as small as possible to reduce manufacturing costs and make storage of the fishing reel easier by allowing it to take up less storage space. Therefore the above described prior art has drawbacks because the housing must be large to house all of the moving parts.